Operations postponed due to pandemic result in 320,000 healthy life years lost The COVID-19 pandemic caused over 305,000 operations to be postponed in 2020 and 2021 in the Netherlands.
Nearly twice as many cases involving long-term symptoms after COVID-19 Three months after infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, almost half of people still report one or more long-term symptoms, such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating and loss of smell.
Many more infections, limited increase in hospital admissions In the past week, the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands increased by 64% compared to the week before that.
Decrease in visits to GP only during first wave of COVID-19 crisis During the first wave of infections in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 crisis (March–June 2020), the total number of visits to the GP was 11% lower than during the same period in 2019.
More than 1 in 5 young people had suicidal thoughts during last lockdown More than 1 in 5 young people (22%) between the ages of 12 and 25 years seriously thought about ending their lives between December 2021 and February 2022. A lockdown was in effect in the Netherlands at that time.
From 1 June 2022, heel prick test also screens for muscle disease SMA, bringing number of screened diseases to 26 From 1 June 2022, the heel prick test for Dutch newborns will also screen for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a serious hereditary muscle condition. Detecting this disease at an early stage enables early treatment.
Tailor-made information will help immigrants make decisions on taking part in screening programmes Immigrants are relatively less likely to take part in preventive screening programmes, such as cancer screening. This is partly due to the language barrier and a lack of knowledge, according to a doctoral thesis by Nora Hamdiui.
People who work at night are more likely to get infected with coronavirus People who occasionally or regularly work at night are 37% more likely to test positive for coronavirus than people who only work during the daytime. This is one of the conclusions of a study by the RIVM (Netherlands).
BA.5 variant detected in the Netherlands The BA.5 variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was detected for the first time in the Netherlands this week.
Public opinion: keep society open and continue providing healthcare during COVID-19 surge In the long-term approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dutch government is assigning a key role to civil society and private citizens. When asked what their priorities are in that context, the answer was to prevent delays in surgical interventions.